Literature Review

As a woman of the twenty-first century, I get to live in the unique era it is: women are working, men are staying home, married couples don’t want children, and couples who aren’t married are having children. These shifts in social norms have brought many changes to how people have to view gender roles, but the media has yet to get the memo. This difference in realities is what sparked the idea for this paper.  The media uses subliminal techniques to promote the world that they want, this includes ideas of how women and men should look and act as well as their place within the family and society. This paper will look at: Sources I found but don’t plan on using, the portrayal of gender roles in the media, effects of the portrayal, and the types of techniques used.

There are a number of great sources that speak on how gender roles are portrayed by the media. Lisa M. Cuklanz wrote an article in 2011 titled "Mass Media Representation Gendered Violence." She talks about how the media portrays men and women in high stress, usually violent situations. It explains the way men are usually the violent ones, causing drama and harm and/or they are the heroes, saving the day in the most masculine way possible. On the other hand, she explains that women are usually portrayed as weaker and always in need of help or saving, they are almost always the victim. The media is not only aware of this portrayal, but continues to include this outdated stereotype.  Aleichia Williams in  “My Culture Taught Me to be a Homemaker. Thanks, but I Want More.” Published in the Huffington Post News in September of 2015 talks about how her cultural background created a sense that all she would amount to was being a mom. She explains how she felt that must have been true because the media portrayed women in that manner. It wasn’t until high school that she realized she could do more. We can see this also in “My Son Was a Princess for Halloween, and I Became a Better Parent” by Lauren Mayeno published in the Huffington Post News September 2015. This is an article that is about a mothers’ struggle with her child not following the social norms of what boys are supposed to like. Her boy preferred to play with dolls and dress up verses going outside and playing in the dirt. After asking her son what he wanted to be for Halloween and he answered a princess without hesitation, the struggle for her became even worse. I want to use this source because it shows, on a personal and ordinary level, that gender roles are hard to break out of fear is social criticism and what is expected of them. Although this doesn’t follow my media is the cause- it does show on a social level that gender norms are all around hard to break and the messaging from the media doesn’t help. Antoher interesting side to these gender roles is brought up by Diane Negra in her work "Gender Bifurcation in the Recession Economy: Extreme Couponing and Gold Rush Alaska." Published in the Cinema Journals I 2013. She argues that when the US was in the recession, the media broadcasted shows that enforced gender conformity to traditional roles. Women were portrayed as homemakers in Extreme Couponing while men were portrayed as bread makers and “real men” braving the rough terrain in Alaska for gold. Malgorzata Wolska in "Gender Stereotypes in Mass Media. Case Study: Analysis of the Gender Stereotyping Phenomenon in TV Commercials."  Published in September 2011 takes on steryoptypes like the ones Negra brings up. She argues that within everyday commercials and advertisements, not just television shows, women and men are cast in traditional gender roles. By placing women and men within the traditional roles, the media is telling everyone who sees them that this is the way the world should work. Nicholas Winter argues the steryotyping and strategic placement of men and women in his article "Masculine Republicans And Feminine Democrats: Gender and Americans' Explicit and Implicit Images of the Political Parties” Published in Political Behavior in 2010. Even in politics, he argues, there is the traditional gender roles in how men and women are associated within their political parties and that then affects how the public and their peers view them within the world of politics. The media comes into play here based on how each representative of the parties are broadcasted and talked about. To finish off the topic of the way the media presents gender roles is a book by Kath Woodward called Questioning Identity: Gender, Class, Ethnicity published in London in 2004. She explains how teens go through a phase where they question everything about themselves and how most of them will turn towards the media and internet for answers, which can have a very negative effect on them. She explains how the media can use this vulnerability to conform the next generation into thinking and feeling one way verses another. S.  Chant wrote "Researching Gender, Families and Households in Latin America: From the 20Th into The21st Century” In 2002. This paper goes over the main issues surrounding the familial unit. It reviews how gender roles have changed and the effects that has had on the family and society as well such as women heading households, men staying home with family, and women being more involved within the world. It also reviews how stereotypes play a part on gender roles within the 21st century. It shows how the changes are different than a century ago and what could be behind these changes such as society, the media, and culture. I don’t think I plan on using this source anymore due to the study only covering Latin America.

Another area that I feel the need to cover under the topic of media based conformity is a more taboo topic within our society, sex portrayal in the media. Karen E. Dill and Kathryn P. Thyll cover this in their article "Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People’s Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions" published on Sex Roles October 2007. This article is about the sexual socialization of women and the masculine way men are portrayed in videogames. It is a study that drawn many connections between video games and the media and the common goal they have. Monique L. Ward captures this topic in another perspective in her article “Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research” published in Developmental Review September of 2003. This is a review of most of the studies done on the correlation of the media and the sexual socialization of the youth in America. It goes over the type of media and the different types of sexual content that are within those types of media. It then goes over the feelings and attitude differences associated with that media when introduced to teens and College Students.

The next aspect of my paper is based on techniques used by the media to subliminally press their views into their viewers. Amy H. Jones goes over this is her study "Visual and Verbal Gender Cues In the Televised Coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics" which was published in The Social Science Collection in 2010. This is a study that analyzes the visual and social cues within sports and the media. It explains how the sex of commentator, angle of the camera, wardrobe of the athletes, words and phrases used in speaking, etc., are all used to subliminally create a biased for or against a specific sex within the sport. Another study that touches on this is from Jennifer L. Knight and Traci A. Giuliano in “He's a Laker; She's a “Looker”: The Consequences of Gender-Stereotypical Portrayals of Male and Female Athlete" published in Sex Roles in August of 2001. This article goes over the gender roles in sports based on the audience’s preference. It explains that people’s preferences on athletes were based on the coverage given. Women’s sports articles were based on the attractiveness of the athlete verses men’s coverage was based on abilities and game history. It goes on about the correlation of the media verse the audience. I plan on using this source to once again show technique the media uses to change perceptions on women and men.

My last area of discussion is based on the effects of this type of portrail. Shelly Grabe and et al. touch on this “The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlation studies" published in Psychological Bulletin in May of 2008.This study is going over how many different types of effects the media can cause when portraying the ideal woman. It lists 141 different mental effect out of 77 different subjects. I plan on using this to show again how much the media impact the viewer in ways that are not all positive. In his book David Schneider published in 2005 The Psychology of Stereotyping, He shows the effects of what stereotyping can do. He traces the origin of stereotyping and how it the media can reinforce these stereotypes causing an overall negative effect of those being stereotyped. It can instill fear or unreasonable praise. Both of which are out of place and can be detrimental. I plan on using this source because it shows a technique the media uses to enforce ideals without stating them directly. The media uses a system already in place which makes reinforcement easier. Dr. Stacy L. Smith and Amy D. Granados in "Gender and the Media." touch on this effect within children. They talk about a study that was done about the effects of the media’s presentation of men and women within children’s shows-most of which are negative. They then go into what can be done to help stop and reverse the effects. I plan on using this source to show direct effects of exposing children to enforced gender roles. Eric Stice and company in “Relation of media exposure to eating disorder symptomatology: An examination of mediating mechanisms.” published in 1994 explains the correlation between media expose and eating disorders in men and women. It goes in depth of not only the eating disorders themselves but the pathology of them and their causes my media. I plan on using this source to show the effects of what the media is doing as well as to show why this matters. The United States Congress: Energy and Commerce is debating the act Healthy Media for Youth Act. This is a bill to create programs to empower girls and boys: to help give them positive reinforcement against the media. I want to use this bill because it shows that something has to be done against this ideal the media is spreading about what the world should look like. The United States Congress is also working on part two of this bill: Healthy Media for Youth Act. This is a bill to fund research on women’s portrayal in the media. It is to see if the effects of said portrayal are positive or negative and then to form a solution if needed. I plan on using this source because it shows that there is concern for this problem on a federal level. I did find an article titled “Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors Associated with U.S. Early Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Media” by Jane D. Brown and L’Engle L. Kelly.  This article, published in 2009, is about the exposure of sexual based media to adolescence and their reaction to it. It explains the types of media used within the study: Pornography, X Rated Movies, etc. and the outcomes on teenage men and women of various social and economic backgrounds. I don’t plan using this source because it goes off on a tangent I am not directing my paper. Ascunción Lavrin wrote “Women, The Family, And Social Change in Latin America” In 1987. This article is about the causes and effects of change within the parameters of social life in Latin America. She explains how social pressures and influences such as family, friends, and the media one are exposed to can influence changes in one’s behavior. I don’t plan on using this source because it is focus on only Latin America where as I was hoping to include a more broad spectrum in my paper.